Volodymyr Oskilko
Encyclopedia
Volodymyr Panteleimonovych Oskilko was a Ukrainian
military activist and administrator. He became famous for the historical Oskilko's Affair (see below).
(today in Rivne Oblast
).
With a start of the World War I
, Oskilko was drafted to the Russian Imperial Army. During his service he had a successful career earning himself a rank of Lieutenant Colonel
. After the February Revolution
in 1917 Oskilko was appointed a Governorate Commissar of the Russian Provisional Government
in Tula
. By the end of 1917 he returned to his native Volyn in Ukraine
where participated in the formation of the Ukrainian People's Army
. In the beginning of 1918 Oskilko was appointed a Commissar of the Central Rada in Rivne
. He was a member of the Ukrainian Party of Socialists Sovereigns that was critical of the Central Rada's policies. During the time of Ukrainian State of Pavlo Skoropadsky
, Oskilko was appointed a chief of security of the Korosten
Railways, an important railway connection in Polissya.
) and a commander of the North group of the Ukrainian People's Army (around 40,000 soldiers). On January 5, 1919 his unit, which was passing through Berdichev, perpetrated a pogrom, killing 23 Jews. Oskilko participated in extinguishing the Bolshevik
-led Polissya Uprising that was directed against the Directorate of Ukraine
and preventing the advancement of the Polish army into Volyn. During that time Rivne
became a temporary capital of Ukraine. Due to the strained situation in the region Oskilko suspected that the Ukrainian government and army became infiltrated by the Russian Cheka
that sabotaged the frontlines of the Ukrainian army. He also did not trust Petlyura not because of his suspicions, but rather of his believe that Petlyura was weak in character and an unreliable person who became influenced by generals-deserters.
On April 12, 1919 a new government
was formed headed by Borys Martos replacing the Ostapenko
's cabinet. Martos proclaimed the creation of a republic of worker's Councils (Soviets) and intention to conclude a peace treaty with the Bolshevik Russia
. Such turn of events made a big impact on the political life of Ukraine. On April 20, 1919 numerous socialists parties of Ukraine (sovereigns, federalists, and others) entrusted Volodymyr Oskilko to deliver a memorandum to Petlyura for an immediate resignation of the Martos' government. Oskilko handed over the document to Petlyura in Zdolbuniv
, who publicly torn it apart.
At the end of April 1919 Petlyura twice ordered Oskilko to lead his army to the frontlines against the Bolshevik
s. Both orders were never executed. Petlyura then fired the Oskilko's chief of staff, Vsevolod Agapiev, however, Oskilko refused to follow that order as well. On April 28 the Chief Otaman sent him the last order to surrender the command to general Zhelikhovski.
On April 29, 1919 Oskilko led a coup-d'etat in Rivne supported by members of the Ukrainian Party of Socialists Sovereigns and the Ukrainian People-Republican Party. The participants of the putsch were requesting the appointment of Yevhen Petrushevych
as the provisional president of Ukraine until the convocation of Constituent Assembly, transfer of all command to general Omelianovych-Pavlenko
and dismiss Symon Petlyura with Andriy Makarenko from organization of military affairs, organization of a coalition government from the members of both Ukrainian republics. Oskilko also sent his representative to Poland with an intent to conduct peace talks.
Oskilko reentered politics in late 1922 as an agent of the Polish government in Volhynia, during which time he tried to break up a Jewish-Ukrainian coalition in the Polish parliamentary elections of that year. His campaign was criticized for its usage of antisemitic tropes.
Oskilko was assassinated in Rivne in 1926.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
military activist and administrator. He became famous for the historical Oskilko's Affair (see below).
Biography
Volodymyr Oskilko was born sometime in 1892 in a village of Horodok, Rovno uyezd, in the Volyn Governorate. At first he finished a gymnasium, later - a teacher's seminary receiving a specialization of a teacher. Oskilko started to work as a village teacher in Zolote near DubrovytsiaDubrovytsia
Dubrovytsia is a town in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It is administrative center of the Dubrovytsia Raion. Population is 9,644 .Although in modern times part of Rivne Oblast, it was historically not part of Volhynia but rather Land of Brest...
(today in Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The area of the region is 20,100 km²; its population is 1.2 million...
).
With a start of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Oskilko was drafted to the Russian Imperial Army. During his service he had a successful career earning himself a rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. After the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
in 1917 Oskilko was appointed a Governorate Commissar of the Russian Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
in Tula
Tula
Tula may refer to:In geography:*Tula, Hidalgo, a town in Mexico, once the capital and sacred city of the Toltec people.*Tula, Tamaulipas, a place in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico*Tula River in central Mexico...
. By the end of 1917 he returned to his native Volyn in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
where participated in the formation of the Ukrainian People's Army
Ukrainian People's Army
The Ukrainian People's Army , also known as the Ukrainian National Army were often quickly reorganized units of the former Russian Imperial Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army for a long period lacked a certain degree of uniformity,...
. In the beginning of 1918 Oskilko was appointed a Commissar of the Central Rada in Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
. He was a member of the Ukrainian Party of Socialists Sovereigns that was critical of the Central Rada's policies. During the time of Ukrainian State of Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi 3 May 1873, Wiesbaden, Germany – 26 April 1945, Metten monastery clinic, Bavaria, Germany) was a Ukrainian politician, earlier an aristocrat and decorated Imperial Russian Army general...
, Oskilko was appointed a chief of security of the Korosten
Korosten
Korosten is a historic city and a large railway node in the Zhytomyr Oblast of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Korosten Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the Uzh River.The city was founded over a...
Railways, an important railway connection in Polissya.
Oskilko's affair
In November 1918 Oskilko led an uprising against the hetman in Volyn. In December he was promoted to Colonel of the Ukrainian People's Army. In January 1919 he became a General Khorunzhy (Major GeneralMajor General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
) and a commander of the North group of the Ukrainian People's Army (around 40,000 soldiers). On January 5, 1919 his unit, which was passing through Berdichev, perpetrated a pogrom, killing 23 Jews. Oskilko participated in extinguishing the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
-led Polissya Uprising that was directed against the Directorate of Ukraine
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory was a provisional revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian National Republic, formed in 1918 by the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Skoropadsky's regime....
and preventing the advancement of the Polish army into Volyn. During that time Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
became a temporary capital of Ukraine. Due to the strained situation in the region Oskilko suspected that the Ukrainian government and army became infiltrated by the Russian Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
that sabotaged the frontlines of the Ukrainian army. He also did not trust Petlyura not because of his suspicions, but rather of his believe that Petlyura was weak in character and an unreliable person who became influenced by generals-deserters.
On April 12, 1919 a new government
Council of People's Ministers
The Council of People's Ministers was the main executive institution of the Ukrainian People's Republic. It was reorganized out of the General Secretariat of Ukraine upon the proclamation of the 4th Universal and Independence on January 25, 1918. As the General Secretariat it is a preceding...
was formed headed by Borys Martos replacing the Ostapenko
Serhiy Ostapenko
Serhiy Ostapenko was economist, statesman, and political activist of Ukraine. In the beginning of 1919 he directed the Council of People's Ministers of Ukrainian People's Republic .-Early years:...
's cabinet. Martos proclaimed the creation of a republic of worker's Councils (Soviets) and intention to conclude a peace treaty with the Bolshevik Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. Such turn of events made a big impact on the political life of Ukraine. On April 20, 1919 numerous socialists parties of Ukraine (sovereigns, federalists, and others) entrusted Volodymyr Oskilko to deliver a memorandum to Petlyura for an immediate resignation of the Martos' government. Oskilko handed over the document to Petlyura in Zdolbuniv
Zdolbuniv
Zdolbuniv is a small city in the Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zdolbuniv Raion , and has an important railway station and cement plant ....
, who publicly torn it apart.
At the end of April 1919 Petlyura twice ordered Oskilko to lead his army to the frontlines against the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s. Both orders were never executed. Petlyura then fired the Oskilko's chief of staff, Vsevolod Agapiev, however, Oskilko refused to follow that order as well. On April 28 the Chief Otaman sent him the last order to surrender the command to general Zhelikhovski.
On April 29, 1919 Oskilko led a coup-d'etat in Rivne supported by members of the Ukrainian Party of Socialists Sovereigns and the Ukrainian People-Republican Party. The participants of the putsch were requesting the appointment of Yevhen Petrushevych
Yevhen Petrushevych
Yevhen Petrushevych was a Ukrainian lawyer, politician, and president of the Western Ukrainian National Republic formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918.-Biography:He was born on June 3, 1863, in the town of Busk, of Galicia in the clerical...
as the provisional president of Ukraine until the convocation of Constituent Assembly, transfer of all command to general Omelianovych-Pavlenko
Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko
Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko , December 8, 1878 - May 29, 1952, was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Galician Army and of the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic...
and dismiss Symon Petlyura with Andriy Makarenko from organization of military affairs, organization of a coalition government from the members of both Ukrainian republics. Oskilko also sent his representative to Poland with an intent to conduct peace talks.
Oskilko reentered politics in late 1922 as an agent of the Polish government in Volhynia, during which time he tried to break up a Jewish-Ukrainian coalition in the Polish parliamentary elections of that year. His campaign was criticized for its usage of antisemitic tropes.
Oskilko was assassinated in Rivne in 1926.